Stavros Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 King Fahd, Saudi Arabia's ruler since 1982, has died. Saudi state television announced that Crown Prince Abdullah had been named as King Fahd's successor. King Fahd had been frail since suffering a stroke a decade ago and had delegated the running of the kingdom's affairs to Crown Prince Abdullah. Defence Minister Prince Sultan is next in line to the throne after Abdullah, and was named crown prince, state television announced. Members of the royal family have already pledged allegiance to Abdullah. An official ceremony confirming him as the new king is due to be held on Wednesday. Link: BBC News Even before the warren of tunnels beneath the Grand Mosque had been cleared of rebels, there came a further blow: the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Fahd was instrumental in what appeared to be a brilliant manouevre helping to support the Afghan Mujahideen resistance fighters. The move, backed by the US and Pakistan, gave Fahd kudos among his own people. Yet it was to rebound horribly on the Saudis and their allies.Many of the young Saudis who volunteered to help the Afghans often by working in the refugee camps became radicalised. Among them was Osama bin Laden. It was Osama and the “Afghan Arabs” who would later sponsor political extremism and lead terrorist attacks against the Saudi authorities and against the west - including the 9/11 assault on the twin towers in New York. Link: FT.com Stav. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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